


codependent.

by rycbar123



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-31
Updated: 2013-03-31
Packaged: 2017-12-07 02:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/743316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rycbar123/pseuds/rycbar123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"As for Dean and Castiel, they became best friends. Not inseparable, but pretty damn close to it. They hung out all the time and had a few classes together. In fifth grade, when Gordon walker called Castiel a freak, Dean had gotten suspended for punching him in the face. And when they got to middle school, Dean barely left Castiel's side because he got bullied so much. The day he came home with a bloody nose and a black eye was the day Dean got suspended for the second time in his life. It was then that he figured he could be no help when he wasnt at school, so he became more subtle with his threats to the bullies."</p>
            </blockquote>





	codependent.

Dean met Castiel when he was seven and the other boy was six.

The Novaks had moved in next door and Dean's mother, being the person she was, smiled, handed Dean a tray of cookies 'for the new neighbors!' and told him to play nice. And he did. Play nice, that is. He walked over and handed Momma Novak the cookies and shook Mr. Novak's hand. He had been about to leave when one of the Novak kids stopped him. It had been Anna, the only girl of the bunch.

"Hey! Are you our neighbor?" she asked obnoxiously, leaning in close to Dean's face to inspect his freckles. Dean had leaned back and nodded.

"Yeah. Im Dean," he said. Anna had smiled and leaned back, nodding.

"Im Anna. Wanna come play with me?"

Dean, having not had many friends in the neighborhood, had smiled and punched her arm, shouting, "TAG! Youre it!" and ran off up the stairs of the Novak house, which he would later become more familiar with.

He had run into the third room on the right of the second story of the house and ran into the closet, opening and closing the door as quietly as he could. He waited until he heard Anna run past the room before covering his mouth and giggling.

It was then that he had heard a sniffle, turning around and coming face-to-face with a blue-eyed boy about his age. His name was Castiel, like he would later tell Dean, and he was the baby of the bunch, before Mrs. Novak had gone and had Samandriel.

And he was crying.

"Why are you crying?" Dean asked in that way that kids do.

The boy had sniffled and wiped his eyes. "Michael called me fat," he said quietly, and frowned. Castiel didnt look fat to Dean. Sure, he was a bit heavier than Dean, but he wasnt, Dean thought as he looked him up and down, fat. And he told him as such.

"Youre not fat. Im Dean,'' he held out his hand, like his dad taught him. "Whats your name?"

Castiel looked at Dean's hand for what seemed like days before finally shaking it lightly and saying quietly, "Castiel. Nice... Nice to meet you, Dean."

They shared a smile in the dark and thats how Dean met Castiel.

Over the years, the two families had become more acquainted with one another. Dean and his brother Sam's parents, and Castiel's parents, became close friends, and the families spent a lot of time together. They had barbecues and went on trips together. At one point, when they were both in seventh grade, Dean and Anna dated, much to Castiel's dismay.

As for Dean and Castiel, they became best friends. Not inseparable, but pretty damn close to it. They hung out all the time and had a few classes together. In fifth grade, when Gordon walker called Castiel a fat freak, Dean had gotten suspended for punching him in the face. And when they got to middle school, Dean barely left Castiel's side because he got bullied so much. The day he came home with a bloody nose and a black eye was the day Dean got suspended for the second time in his life. It was then that he figured he could be no help when he wasnt at school, so he became more subtle with his threats to the bullies.

In eighth grade, Castiel came out of the closet. Before then, Dean had never known what gay meant, so Castiel had had to explain it to him, with a lot of blushing and stuttering and "its okay if you dont want to talk to me anymore". After he was done explaining, Dean had scoffed and wrapped his arm around his shoulder like he always did, and said, "Why the hell wouldnt I want to talk to you anymore? Youre my best friend," and Castiel had literally cried with relief. He didnt tell his family.

Their freshman year of high school, Castiel met someone. A boyfriend type of someone. And Dean had been jealous. Not of Andy, Castiel's boyfriend, but because he was alone a lot more often. So he had dated Anna again, just for a week. A terrible, annoying week. Then Andy had broken up with Castiel because he wouldnt have sex with him, and Dean had hugged him while he cried and gotten ice cream and ordered pizza and sat in bed with Castiel watching Star Trek until he felt somewhat better.

Their sophomore year, Dean had dated a girl named Ruby. Ruby was a bitch. She got Dean's little brother to smoke (he hated it, of course) and called Castiel fat. Dean had, of course, broken up with her. Dean and Castiel spent more time together, after that. Castiel got depressed for a while so Dean left him on his own. Looking back on it, Dean would mentally curse himself. Castiel had been going through a hard time and Dean hadnt been there with him, to pig out on sweets and marathon Buffy.

The two boys grew apart after the summer of their sophomore year. Sam skipped a grade and started the high school. Castiel and Sam became friends. Not close friends, like he and Dean had been, but they waved in the halls and Sam defended him when someone called him fat. Dean still swore up and down that he wasnt fat, but he still said he was. He even used technical terms like obese. He cried about it sometimes, when the two had been alone after a day with particularly more bullying than the other days. It seemed to happen a lot.

Dean went on a study abroad program senior year, leaving Castiel and Sam alone. Sam and their parents had cried. Anna had given him a big, friendly smooch on the lips. Mr. and Mrs. Novak hugged him and told him how proud they were, and to write. Gabriel, Luke, and Michael, Castiel's brothers, had all mussed up his hair and told him to have sex with the German girls. As for Castiel, Dean had hugged him as tight as he could and promised he would call him or Skype him or write him. His last words to Castiel before he boarded the plane were, "God, Cas. Youve lost so much weight, you skinny asshole. Might wanna eat before you die." Not his most fabulously constructed sentence, but it had made Castiel smile and laugh, blinking away the tears that refused to fall. And Dean was off.

Germany was great. It was so great, in fact, that he didnt call, write, or Skype even his own family in the year he was gone. He got a call from his parents once a month, which he sometimes did, sometimes didnt get around to answering. He became near-fluent in German and learned some French and sign language, courtesy of his house-sisters' deaf best friend, Kimlea. He dated a German girl, had sex for the first time, and, with the gentle prying and helpful advice of his host family, found out he was gay. He didnt like having sex with that girl, his German girlfriend of seven months, two weeks, and six days, and after being kindly dumped by her, he had dated her brother. They never had sex but they did kiss, and it was awesome. Dean felt, he thought to himself, that something had been missing. Nothing had been missing, it turned out, except for the fact that he hadnt realized he was gay for eighteen years. After that, he ended up staying with his host family the summer after senior year, as well, deciding to take a gap year before university so he could spend some more time at home when he finally left.

When he finally got home, he openly cried. His mother and father adopted a kid, a little boy named Adam whos parents had been brutally murdered. Dean remembers hearing about such incident once when Sam called. Speaking of Sam, over the year, he grew five inches and got himself a girlfriend, a pretty, smart girl named Jessica. Dean was proud of him. Michael and Luke Novak moved out of the house, one going off to University and the other moving in with his fiance and getting a house. Gabriel grew into nothing more than a taller version of his child self; a candy obsessed, annoying, snarky asshole. Anna grew into a bombshell. She grew out of her tomboy phase, grew her hair out, and discovered skinny-jeans. Mr. and Mrs. Novak had gotten a divorce and Mr. Novak had bailed out on them when Samandriel was born. "Castiel cried for weeks," Anna had told Dean. "You should have called."

At that point, Dean finally got the chance to casually ask where Castiel was. He was dying to see his friend. As it turned out, Castiel had skipped another grade and gone to university early. He was studying at the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England and Dean beamed. He was proud. Anna assured him that Castiel was fine on his own, after Dean had voiced such worries. He had a few friends at the University and he hadnt gotten bullied there. People were nicer. He would be back in two months, Mrs. Novak told him as he left. "Come by and welcome him home. He missed you," she said with a smile, before hugging Dean again. "We all missed you."

So Dean went back home with a smile on his face and sat on Adam's bed with him. Dean learned a lot about his adopted brother. He learned they had the same taste in television shows, and that he didnt like the bands Dean like, he liked the ones Sam liked. At that, Dean rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Adam, telling him to go hang out with Sam, then. The two of them got along surprisingly well for not having ever met before, which Dean's parents were pleasantly surprised by.

On Dean's third day home, he came out of the closet, so to speak. He told his family of his boyfriend back in Germany, how he would understand if they didnt accept it, but to please try and understand. His mom just frowned and asked why they wouldnt accept it. His dad had lovingly punched him on the arm and said "We dont care what you are, son. Youre just that - our son, and we'll love you no matter what." Dean had nearly cried. Sam had just laughed and said, "So I take it you didnt have sex with any hot German girls," just quiet enough for only Dean to hear. Dean had blushed and punched his arm.

Two months came and went faster than he would have liked and before he knew it, he was crouching behind the Novak's couch between Mrs. Novak and Gabriel. Gabriel had a lollipop seemingly surgically attached to his hand and Mrs. Novak was bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation. She squeezed Dean's hand or shoulder a few times, telling him how much she had missed her baby and how excited she was to see him after all this time.

After nearly ten minutes of waiting, almost two minutes of keys jingling in the lock and quiet curses, Castiel walked in. Everyone sprung up from the hiding spots, shouted, "SURPRISE!" and walked over to greet Castiel. Dean's surprise died on his lips. Castiel... changed. He was no longer the awkward fat kid, though Dean still refused to ever say Castiel had been fat, no matter how overweight he actually was, and his hair was sticking up at all angles. His eyes were just as blue and his smile was the same; that smile that had always made Dean smile, no matter what happened.

Castiel hadnt seem him yet so, in his nervousness, he didnt the only thing he could think to do; ran. He ran up the stairs, to the third room on the right of the second floor and into the closet. As kids, that had become Dean and Castiel's spot. The first time Castiel got called fat at school, Dean had found him crying in the closet. When he had come home with a black eye and a bloody nose, and years later, when he got dumped for the first time, Dean had always found him in the closet. And everytime Dean had had a bad day, and when he broke up with Anna or when his parents would be fighting, he would run across his yard, into the Novak's house (Castiel had given him a key) up the stairs, and into the closet.

And thats how Castiel found him nearly half an hour later. They both barely fit in the closet anymore. They were pressed together, from their thighs to their shoulders. It was warm and Dean was content.

"Cas," was the first thing he said to his best friend in over a year.

"Dean," Castiel responded. His voice got deeper. It was nice, Dean thought with a small smile. He had missed Castiel so much and now they he was finally there, sitting next to the man himself, he didnt know what to say.

"You look good," was the first thing that came to mind, so he said it.

Castiel laughed. "Yeah, im not fat anymore." He poked at his stomach and Dean rolled his eyes.

"You were never fat, Cas."

It was silent for a few minutes before Dean reached over and poked at Castiel's stomach lightly. "But I know how unhappy you were and im proud of you." He looked over and smiled radiantly at Castiel, who smiled back just as bright.

"Thank you, Dean. How was Germany?" Castiel asked, nudging Dean with his shoulder.

Dean's smiled dropped. Germany was great, it really was. He had fun and met nice people and learned the language, plus a few more. And he was excited to tell Cas all about it. But telling Cas all about it meant that he would have to tell him he was gay. He knew Castiel wouldnt mind, he was just... nervous? Nervous and guilty as hell. He promised to keep in touch but he hadnt contacted Castiel in over a year. Castiel should have been the first person to know he was gay. Dean was, after all, the first person Castiel came out to.

"It was great," Dean started. "My host family was great. My sister was nice. She reminded me of you. Um... I learned some sign language. Dated a hot German girl-" Castiel smirked -"Dated a hot German girls' hot German brother. Ate a lot of chocolate. Gained a few chocolate pounds," he joked, trying to say anything to distract Castiel from the fact that he just told him he dated another guy.

Castiel didnt mention it, instead saying, "You dont look like you gained any weight."

Dean stared. That was not what he expected Castiel to say. "Really?"

"Really, what?" Castiel asked, confused.

"I tell you I dated a guy and you dont say anything about it. Did that not surprise you?" Dean asked, his brow furrowing. its not that he wanted to make a big deal out of it, he just wanted it out in the open.

"Everyone experiments. I dont think any less of you, Dean," was all he said, shrugging and blinking up at Dean.

"Cas, im gay," Dean said flatly. Castiel was the smartest person Dean knew, apart from maybe his own brother, but sometimes he just didnt pick up on social queues. He was, to say the least, socially awkward. Even as kids, Dean was constantly explaining things to Castiel and assuring him that, yes, that guy is flirting with you or, no, that was just sarcasm, Cas.

After a stunted silence, Castiel had finally said, "Wait, what? Youre gay?"

Dean had nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Yeah. I mean, I didnt realize it until I had sex with my hot German girlfriend, didnt like it, and decided her brother was hotter." He was glad it was dark. Castiel couldnt see how dark his blush was.

"I didnt expect that."

"Neither did I," Dean said. "I assure you, when I went to Germany, I planned on bringing home stories about German girls, not German boys. Well, boy. It was just Dimka." Dean had smiled fondly in the dark. Dimka had been great, even though he insisted to be called Dimka, which was actually the Russian nickname for Dimitri, which wasnt even his real name. But other than that, he really had been great, and Dean had taken down his email address and Skype information. "So what about you? You currently seeing any hot guys?" Dean asked, knocking his shoulder with Castiel, and Castiel blushed. Dean couldnt see it, but he knew he was blushing.

"Ah, no. I havent dated since over the summer. Um, bad breakup," he said, looking down and playing with his hands. Dean just looked at him for a while before standing up and opening the closet. He stepped out and held out his hand.

"Come on."

"What are we doing?" Castiel asked, reaching up to grab his hand. Dean had smiled, holding Castiel's hand for just a second longer than necessary.

"Bad breakup," he repeated. "I am sitting you down, ordering a pizza, and grabbing my Star Trek box set. Come on."

Castiel just stared up at Dean for what seemed like forever, slightly slack-jawed and wide-eyed. He eventually jumped up on his toes and threw his arms around Dean's neck, squeezing him tightly and burying his face in his friends' neck, right in the crook of his elbow. Dean didnt even have to think about what he was doing, he just wrapped his arms around Castiel's waist and smiled.

"I missed you so much, Dean. I went through so much and you werent here. I missed you," Castiel; had said, and Dean smiled wider. Castiel just squeezed harder, telling Dean how much he missed him, before pulling away and wiping his eyes.

"I missed you, too, Cas," Dean said, reaching forward and grabbing Castiel's hand. "Now. Cheese?"

Castiel had smiled and nodded, wiping his eyes again with his free hand and laughing quietly.

~*~* Epilogue*~*~

"Dean, christ. Oh... Oh god. Yeah. There. Harder."

"Here?"

"Yeah. There. As hard as you can.. Okay... Yeah, like that! Ah, no. Too hard. Ouch."

Dean sighed and changed his rhythm again. "There? Like that? Tell me if I hurt you, alright?"

Castiel nodded and closed his eyes, sighing happily. Dean took that as his perfect oppurtunity to pounce. He slowly and carefully pulled his hands from under Castiel's shirt, having already been rubbing his shoulders for twenty minutes, and smiled.

"Rawr," he said quietly in his ear, kissing the soft skin right behind his ear and leaning forward, wrapping his arms around Castiel's midsection and pulling him back into a hug. Castiel laughed and swatted his hands away, shouting over their laughter, "Dean! Let go of me!"

Dean just smiled wider and squeezed him tighter, kissing his cheek wherever he could reach from where he was before moving down to kiss the back of his neck in that spot he knew he loved, and nuzzling his face in Castiel's neck. "Never," he said in response, pulling Castiel between his legs and moving his hands to his hips.

Castiel leaned his head back against Dean's shoulder and looked up at him. "Love you," he said with a smile.

"Love you, too," Dean said with a toothy grin, leaning down to kiss Castiel.

Castiel had never been happier. He had transferred universities so he could stay at home and Dean had started at the same university. Now that they were both back, Dean practically lived in Castiel's room, sleeping in his bed and taking over his television. Not that he was complaining. Castiel more than loved having Dean there with him all the time.

After a few months of both boys being back, Dean had kissed Castiel for the first time. Castiel had kissed him back, more than happily, and the two had been together ever since, and this time, you could definitely say they were inseparable.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading (:  
> um, if you want this to be turned into a longer, multi-chapter fic, then message me or comment on this. im not sure if you can do that on ao3, im new here, but yeah. contact me and i hope you enjoyed! n_n


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